73rd Hunger Games: Percy, May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor
by AryaPotter07
Summary: Percy wakes up one day in District Twelve. His memories in place, Riptide in his pocket. He has not a clue about why is he there. Takes place just after "The House of Hades", and one edition before Katniss's Games. DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything, the canon characters are not mine, etc. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Hello. My name is Percy Jackson. I'm seventeen years old. And I thought I had seen the worst possible until I arrived to this shithole. Annabeth. I miss her more than I can say. Is the only thing that keeps me thinking right. For I would have lost my sanity long ago.

Some days ago I woke up inside this shack that I now call shithole. The worst of all was that I felt completely normal. My memories in my head, all my limbs in place, and Riptide in my pocket. I feel I must tell you I'm a demigod, son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, and stuff. Yeah, I'm that awesome bloke who a year ago banished the lord of the Titans and less than two weeks ago was fighting the greatest war in human and Olympic history, trying to defeat evil Dirt Face and her annoying sons, the Giants. Less than two weeks ago, Annabeth and I emerged, almost dead, from Tartarus. Less than two weeks ago, my life took another unpleasant turn. Less than two weeks ago, I had hope of staying alive and growing up with Annabeth. That was two weeks ago. Now, I don't know where I may end. For now, I just hope I don't get called out at the reaping.

I met her on my second morning. Being used to three delicious meals a day, natural, cooked by wood nymphs and brought by dryads, I was very, very hungry. She entered, and she had with her a sack with some berries and a squirrel.

"Who the hell are you?" She drew a bow and an arrow faster than I could have said "Zeus's pants".

"Percy Jackson." First encounters don't go well if people discover you are half Greek god. And if you have badass water superpowers. "And your name is?" I asked her.

"Katniss. Katniss Everdeen." She sort of lowered her bow. Her intense olive eyes didn't leave mine. But I felt this girl was more like me than she let see.

"Well Katniss, unless you want to share your food with me, could you please go?" I didn't mean to be rude, but I was very hungry and I wanted to see if I could kill a rabbit or a squirrel.

"For a moment I thought you were Gale." She told me.

"Who is Gale?"

"I'm Gale." Said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw this guy, about the size of Jason Grace, which is almost a head taller than me, staring at me.

"Percy." I was starting to get annoyed. Couldn't a guy be lonely, lost and desperately hungry in peace? "Now, seriously. What are you doing here?"

"We meet here. What are you doing here would be a better question." Gale was almost killing me with his eyes. I drew Riptide. I know I shouldn't have reacted that way but I was very hungry, and annoyed. The tip of the bronze sword was touching his neck.

"You know, dude, there are easier ways to make friends." Gale's tone was completely different now.

"Jackson, put that away before you poke your own eye out." She took a step towards me. "I think we can trust him." She looked at her companion. "Or at least give him some food."

"Yes, if that gun isn't just big talk." I lowered Riptide. Gun? Oh, yeah. First good news of the day. Mist, wherever we were, was still strong. I had to be more careful with my mythical stuff.

"I assure you it isn't." I turned to Katniss. "I can hunt, and I can get my own food. But, will you help me? I know nobody on this strange place, I'm a complete outsider. I'll trust you if you trust me." She looked at Gale, and I think some sort of understanding passed between them, after all, when you are alone and starving, you get some sympathy.

"Fine Jackson. You tell me. How old are you? Where are you from?"

"I'm seventeen; I'm from New York, but most of the time I live at a camp in Long Island."

"I thought we weren't going to lie to each other. From which district are you?"

"District. I don't get it. You know, New York, United States, North America, Planet Earth?"

"This is Panem. North America not longer exists. This loathsome country was what emerged after North America collapsed, and thirteen districts arose, led and ruled by the Capitol. But there was a rebellion, and Thirteen was destroyed. Now you are in Twelve, in the middle of nowhere, and less than two weeks from the reaping." She shrugged uncomfortably.

"And that's Panem's history in a nutshell." Said Gale. "Let's get going."

"I'm fifteen, by the way." Katniss told me.

And that way, we started our friendship, more from need than from anything else. Katniss's skill with the bow matched that of Apollo's kids, and that of Frank Zhang. Gale's snares could've impressed Annabeth. But I was a quicker and steadier hunter than them, and could bring down bigger game. Lucky Riptide worked on animals (sorry Grover), but I had to help. Prim and all of Gale's siblings needed the money, and pelts were sold fast. I thought I had adapted to this new lifestyle until the morning of the reaping. I woke up, and after praying to all the gods, even to those that I didn't like, and asking to see Annabeth at least once more, I saw Katniss on the door of my shithole. She had offered me a place at her own house, but I told her it would raise suspicion.

"Wakey wakey! Come on Jackson! It's reaping day!" She threw me some clothes. "These were Gale's when he was your size. Wash up and hurry, I'm waiting." I changed; the button-down shirt and beige trousers fit me well. I cleaned my head and teeth at the little pond outside the shack. When I went out I saw Katniss wearing a green skirt.

"Skirt?"

"Shut up. It's compulsory. Now hurry, Gale is waiting for us." She headed expertly out of the forest, and I followed her. We passed under the electric fence and headed for the public square. We had agreed that it would be the best for me if I attended, as if a Peacekeeper (cop) found me, I would be killed, for sure. And besides, if there was any chance my name would come out, I would be missed, for sure. And all of that was dangerous. Especially for Katniss, and Gale, and their families, all because we had been seen together.

When we arrived, the square was so packed with people no one ever looked at me twice. We saw Gale waiting for us, holding up a hand in reconnaissance.

"Hey Catnip. Hey Jackson. What a lovely morning to bet on our lives!"

"And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Katniss laughed nervously. "We have to check the names."

"What? Oh, yeah." We arrived at a very long desk where everybody was having their fingers pinched. I looked nervously at Katniss, she nodded at me. But she didn't understand my real nervousness. If that piece of shit worked on DNA, I was so dead. Demigods only have a human half of their DNA; the other part can't be seen by mortals. But before I could mention it to Gale, a guy in a white uniform grabbed my hand and pinched my finger.

"Perseus Jackson, seventeen, born and raised in Twelve, right?" The guy asked me without looking up.

"Yes." I answered. What else could I say?

"May the odds be ever in your favor, Mr. Jackson. Pray take your place with the rest of the seventeen year olds. "I headed towards Gale, he was also seventeen.

"Good luck, Hawthorne, or as they say where I'm from, let's hope the gods are in a good mood."

"Same, Jackson. See you for evening hunting." As we were saying that, the District Twelve escort (as Katniss had explained to me) walked into stage. It was occupied by the mayor, three empty chairs, two big glass balls with little papers on it, and Haymitch Abernathy, the only victor alive of District Twelve, and he was as drunk as always. The ceremony protocol started, the mayor read some major shit that I really don't remember and it was even duller than lectures at Yancy, or than Chiron's favorite music. After he finished, the woman walked to the center.

"Happy Hunger Games!" I heard Gale grunt next to me. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

She walked up on those things women wear that look like torture devices and got next to the right sphere.

"Ladies first!" and she dove those manticore-like talons inside the ball. She brought out a paper. "And our female tribute for the 73rd Hunger Games is…"

"Carrie Smithens." A tall girl walked up the aisle. She wasn't weeping, or crying, or looking scared. She looked as proud as an Amazon. She reminded me of my friend Clarisse. And not for the first time I wondered, were there demigods in Panem?

Carrie reached the stage and shook the escort's hand (Effie I think her name is), then she turned towards the audience, eyeing the horizon, no emotion on her face.

"Good, good! And now for the boys!" She drove her talons again inside the ball. "And the male representing District Twelve in the 73rd Hunger Games is…" And I was all like, if it is me, I swear to all the gods, I will hunt down whoever did this to me and kill them slowly and painfully…

"Perseus Jackson."


	2. Chapter 2

Shit. Obviously it had to be me. Maybe I offended the immortal guts of a god and now they were toying with me. Shit. I felt Gale's pat on my shoulder, and saw Katniss's outraged face as I was walking towards the stage. I shook Effie's hand.

"Both tributes shake hands!" And I looked straight into Carrie's eyes. They were not the murderous kind like Ares or Clarisse, but they were the dead kind, like Nico's, or Hazel's, or even worse, Bianca's. I squeezed her hand and she smiled at me. We were now friends in death.

I had to say some more shit, and had to endure Haymitch's as he staggered around, drunk. He was too drunk to even care anymore. The mayor finally waved the audience off, and Effie said good bye with a "Happy 73rd Hunger Games!". I felt sick. That feeling, it resembled when I had to drink from the River of Fire in Tartarus, that was how sick I felt. When Katniss explained to me all about the Hunger Games, I didn't believe her at first. What kind of sadist people would force kids to kill each other (Ares, you don't count)? And why do they make others watch it? And allow making a party out of it? I had been once forced to fight for my life for other people's entertainment; it had been one of the worse experiences in my whole life. All of that crossed my mind while I was led through the commissariat building and into a rich room carpeted in purple with velvet coaches and a low coffee table. The grandeur of the furniture was annoying after all I had seen within the district. I sat on one of the couches and understood that it was the time when our loved ones came to say goodbye. Loved ones. Annabeth, my mom, Hazel, Frank, Tyson, Grover, Leo, Jason, Piper, my friends at camp… I wonder what they are doing right now, if they are looking for me. Especially my mom, that I miss her even more than I miss Annabeth, I haven't seen her since Her Annoying Majesty had switched me with Jason and wondered if anyone would come to see me off. And when I was sitting on my own misery, Katniss came and hugged me.

"Percy! You can win. You will win. I know you can. Swear it."

"Yes Katniss, I promise. Now shut up, I need to tell you something. Please shut up and listen until I finish, and don't breathe a word. I will tell Gale too, but well…" I breathed heavily. "I have finally understood Katniss, what happened to me. I'm from the past, literally from North America. And I am a demigod, son of Poseidon the Greek god of the sea. Don't interrupt, just do some research, ask around and find old books, research the myths. Now, I don't know if the gods today are still alive and kicking, but I think I've found another demigod. Here, and I'll send a signal. Promise me you won't breathe a word. Swear in on the River Styx."

"Umm, I swear. But Percy, you're insane."

"Just find information, Katniss. Please."

The Peacekeeper in white uniform came to signal her away, and she hugged me one last time. The promise, it sounded like the one I had made to Nico all those years ago, empty, desolate, and impossible. She looked at me one last time. _If you don't win Jackson, I swear I will kill you._

Then came Gale. After a moment's hesitation, he embraced me like a brother. He patted me on the back a bit awkwardly.

"Come on Jackson! Just when everything was fine…" he shook his head. "Please win, will you?"

"Oh, surely. Now, shut up and listen to me. You need to help Katniss in any way you can. Keep her safe. Understand? Also, there's something I need to tell you. I am a demigod. Don't ask! Don't interrupt! That means my dad is a god, one of those Greek deities. In my case, it is Poseidon. Help Katniss research the myths. And also, give this to Katniss." I handed him a hairpin. "It is magical, it will help her. No, I'm not nuts. I'll be more elaborate when I return." I hugged him again. "Thanks for everything, Gale. Thanks for the trust. And keep her safe."

The Peacekeeper waved him out, and I was left alone. Oh, if only Annabeth was here, she would understand everything. I was now trying very hard to keep a straight face. I couldn't cry, I couldn't show weaknesses. The Peacekeeper came again, this time for me. I stepped out of the room and found myself surrounded by cameras. I could perfectly imagine my friend Leo right now "Team Leo, baby! Hot stuff! All da ladies luv Leo!" And dancing, and prancing… I was a perfect example of how a poker face should look. On the other side, Carrie was smiling. Not of nerves, but quite cynically, and she was waving at everyone, and sending kisses to the cameras, but the smile never reached her eyes, her dead eyes. I had a theory I had to prove.

They got us inside the train and locked the door. Haymitch went up to his room to vomit while the people from the Capitol served us dinner. Oh, how had I missed a properly cooked meal. Salad, rice, pork chops, and puddings of things I couldn't even name. Naturally, I wolfed down the whole lot. Everything was so dam delicious. Carrie was trying not to be sick, and she looked quite green. It was weird, though. She was eating like if it were her last meal, and with her hands.

"Carrie, dear, use your fork. You don't want to go to the Capitol eating like a cannibal." Effie looked disgusted.

"Sorry. Is that having enough to eat makes a nice change, you know. There were more important abilities to learn than table manners." Carrie smiled at her.

"Oh, well…" She turned to me. "But you do have manners! But save space that more is coming."

I didn't stop eating. Oh, Holy Hephaestus, the stuff was delicious. Effie waved us out and told us that everything was at our disposal, that we could do whatever we wanted. I entered my chamber and got into the bathroom, I didn't remember taking a bath even before Tartarus, and it felt like eating a whole batch of my mother's blue chocolate chip cookies. Just out of curiosity, I started playing with the water, forming shapes and figures, and was delighted that I still could. Oh gods, winning this shit could be so easy. Inside the drawers in the room, I found this weird pair of pajamas with little tridents painted all over it. Thanks, Dad. I know I look as manly as hell. Finally, I brushed my teeth and got inside the bed, which was deliciously soft and warm. Ah, and for first time in many days, dreams found me.

I was standing on the top of a cliff, but the grass was weird, and the sky, a deep blood red. I was holding a knife in my left hand, and I was clutching it as hard as I could, so hard it hurt. And then came a voice:

"_Jackson! The Jackson! You can't survive, you can't live, and you don't want to, you're dead."_

And I was like "No! You won't get over me. I want to live. There are people worth living for."

And then, weird vines started sprouting from everywhere, my feet were tangled and I was falling, and falling, and falling… until I heard Grover.

"Dude! You're alive! Whatever you need, you won't get. Whatever you want, you will lose. Chiron wanted me to tell you that… oh! And Annabeth misses you a lot, she says that if you ever do this to her again she's going to kill you… no threat… and… and… Please Perce! Come back! Camp needs you, the Romans have put us on a siege…" His voice started fading like in a old television program. "Please…" And I was still falling, the ground, now I could see it, was full of pointy and sharp rocks. It would be very bad for my health falling there. And then it stopped. And in the dream, I was turned upside down and I saw a man's shape, holding a spear, facing the horizon.

"Wake up! Today's going to be a big, big day! Come on, get dressed, breakfast is served!"

I groaned loudly, but not out of complaint, actually I was glad the dream was over. I sat down on the edge of the bed for a while, thinking about the dream… at least Chiron knew where I was now, if that offered even a bit of relief. And Annabeth was okay, and hopefully the rest of the seven were as well. I stood up, and headed towards the chest of drawers. I needed jeans. I opened the third drawer and found a pair of jeans that suited me, as well as an orange T-Shirt. Well, that was as closer as I could get to home. Effie was waiting for me in the dining cart, Carrie was already there and she looked better. And Haymitch was dipping his rolls in a cup of hot chocolate.

"Hey Percy, how did we sleep?" She didn't wait for an answer."Today is going to be your big, big, big day. We're going to get to the Capitol, you're going to be left on the hands of your stylists, and it will all be wonderful!" She turned to Haymitch. "You might want to start talking about strategies, and sponsors, don't you?" Haymitch wandered for a while and then told us: "Both of you, I will tell you something. I don't want to be here, and I don't you either, but as we are already sunk inside this shithole, you might as well try to make things right. Now tell me… what can you do? Jackson?"

How much could I tell him? "Uh, I'm good with water. I know how to use a sword very well, I'm not a so lame archer, I can wrestle, and I can make strategies. I can survive, get my own food, I'm fast, and I'm strong. And incredibly handsome."

"Oh, no. You're not." Carrie played a bit with her fork. "I can annoy people very easily… I'm not easy to see, and I'm pretty fierce. But there's something… no, nothing. That's about it." I made eye contact with her. I made her understand I was keeping something as well. She nodded, and I smiled a bit.

"Good. That's all good. I need to go and sober up, see you at dinner." Haymitch stood up, stumbled and headed towards his own chamber.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you guys are liking my story. Sorry for the delay, but from now on, I'll most probably be updating once a week... so keep tuned! :) Also, I'm using some of the movie's scenarios. Hope that won't be a problem. **_

"Now, children, we're going to watch the recaps of all the Reapings. Come here!" She wobbled in those needles of hers and headed towards the T.V. room. At first, when I had arrived and Katniss had told me that watching television was compulsory, I was all like "YES!" but then, when I saw what we had to watch… well, disgusted didn't quite fit. It was worse than watching the guys down there in the Fields of Punishment being dragged all over. It was worse than watching Bianca, Zoë, and all my other friends die, it was like feeling the pain all over again, even though I didn't know any of those guys. I think the time I'll spend in the arena will help me get stronger, faster, and much more important, more mentally stable. Anyway, I saw other poor underfed kids getting chosen, some Ares-like bullies volunteering forward (why on Olympus would they do that?), and some that were just chosen. It didn't matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get how Effie was enjoying herself so much, and blabbing nonsense about the idjits in the Capitol, and some assbutt hair-dye crap… The landscape on the windows started to change. Instead on endless mountain and meadows, countless buildings and odd structures started to appear. It looked as if you multiplied Manhattan times 100, minus the graffiti and the hobos, I guess. But before I could swallow all of it in, we were engulfed again by darkness.

"We are here!" Effie announced.

Holy Hera, if I had thought Manhattan was big; I was because I had never seen these buildings. All was huge, at least what I've seen. And then there was the prep center. I had been like a lot of time in there (What could they do to a guy?), and I had already been washed thrice from head to toe. My chest and back had been plucked like a chicken, even though I was not that hairy. But when they moved on to my legs and arms, I put a stop. I was proud of the little hair I had managed to grow in those parts.

"Please. In District Twelve, if you have hair in your arms and legs, it means you're strong." That was about the smarter I could get.

"Oh, poor dear! What we will do now? We can't let them see you when you look like a monkey!" One of the guys said. His hair was more annoying than Apollo's poetry. And that was saying something.

"Besides, if I want to win, and I want people to believe that, I have to look fierce, haven't I?"

"Oh, well, if you see it that way…"

They kept fussing over me, plucking this, plucking that, washing this… until they saw my wrist. Crap, I had sincerely been hoping that they looked that over.

"SPQR? A big fork? A line? How weird are your scars! Where, or when did you get them?" One of the women said.

"Oh, bandits. They kidnapped me and did this to me." That was very stupid, but hey, what else could I say?

"Let's leave them to Andrea's criteria."

I sighed. Oh, these people were worse than monsters. But then, a girl in a very simple outfit walked in. She couldn't have been more than twenty. She was blonde (and it looked sort of natural), had big brown eyes. She introduced herself as Andrea, my stylist.

"Now, now Perseus, what should we do with you? Eat lunch, for starters." She punched a button on the table and a weird sort of pasta covered in a blue sauce appeared. I dived in, she laughed. She was a quite pleasant person to be around.

"Well Perseus, can I call you Percy? Good. Well Percy, this year's approach is quite different, I'm afraid. The guys up in the Capitol specifically asked to avoid having you lot naked. That was a disappointment, I should say. It simplified stuff. But well, we do have a different idea now."

"Naked?" I hoped I didn't sound as terrified as I thought I did.

"Aren't you listening to me? Not naked, you doof. No, this is gonna be great, and different. So answer me this: What does your District's industry focuses on?

"Uhh, carbon?"

"And, if you apply enough pressure, what does carbon turn into?" Before she gave me time to answer, she said, "Diamond! You know, without all the technicalities, you do get a nice little diamond. And we don't want those dickwads in District One getting all the shiny stuff, don't we?"

"We don't?"

"No, we don't. Now hurry, your costume is ready and they got to fix you up." As I was standing on, she caught sight of my SPQR tattoo.

"We are going to need some fader for that." She said.

"No, we don't." She smiled.

"I guess we can make a soft spot. Good thing you are convinced about keeping it." And she left me to be attacked again by the prep team.

Two hours later, I was standing next to a black carriage wearing one of the weirdest outfits in the world, and thanking all the gods that no one I knew was there to see me. I was wearing this weird black leotard, which was covered by some sort of shirt made up from something that looked like dragon scales, all pitch black, and placed one over the other in a cool pattern. I had pants and a long cape (what the hell?) made in a similar way. I eyed the other tributes. I tried to decipher who of all of them would mean the biggest threat to me. Like, who did I forcibly have to kill to return home? And not for the last time I thought this whole set-up was sick. I felt overwhelmed. Andrea had explained me the whole costume while she was fixing me up.

"You just wait for us to do our job." She said as she was fastening the cape around my neck. "You two will look absolutely splendid!" Her accent sounded like some really old British person that had lived in a farm in Texas for good 30 years. "Just don't panic, all right? You smile wide and nice. You want everyone to love you. Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind and you'll make it. Believe me Percy, I know you'll make it. After all, true beauty is about finding the right fit, the most natural fit. To be perfect, you have to feel perfect about yourself — avoid trying to be something you're not." And she winked.

The carriage bumped over a rock on the almost flawless pavement that lead to a thing that looked like a teacher's front desk, only a thousand times bigger. And people, so many people. Shouting at us. Screaming our name. "Percy! Percy! Carrie! Carrie!" I smiled quite widely. I did feel as if I was the king of the world. Battle to the death? Ha! I've killed the Minotaur, fought Polyphemus, and Ares, and killed Kronos, and Athena knows who else. I totally owned this. I could, and would win. As easy as another training exercise at camp. And then, when I couldn't have risen any higher, I felt the weight of the sky on my shoulders. I heard Carrie gasp. And I turned my head. My shoulders were entirely covered by… diamond. I couldn't describe it any other way. I let out a cry; I hoped it had sounded ecstatic. Why was I there, if not to unbalance all those ugly sons of bitches? Looking at it more closely, I could see the cape was really formed by thousands of small mirrors put together in such a flawless way that it looked as if it was made of just one huge flexible mirror. _Diamond_. Ha, I understood Andrea's idea now. And Carrie shone, shone as bright as the moon on midnight in District 12, and she stood, proud. For one tiny moment I felt intimidated. A wee bit. And then it ended. The whole moment had gone, drifted away. I was being ushered down of the carriage, and I was having the costume taken off. I was startled. I had figured out who my true threat was. And I wasn't safe.

Oh, that night. "How wonderful! What an impression! Great work from the stylists!" Oh Zeus's pants. I was so exhausted. I excused myself from dinner and headed towards my room. I sat on the bed and thought of Annabeth. I had sworn to her that we would never be apart again. And by the Gods, they were going to pay. I was sick of having them toy with me. I undressed, and slipped into the bed (it had blue covers, awesome), still thinking. I had several, painful long weeks ahead of me.

I couldn't remember ever feeling as hungry as I felt that morning. Plate after plate of breakfast I swallowed, and glass after glass of fancy orange juice. It was almost as good as the food at camp. I was already dozing it off when Carrie showed up. She looked like a panda.

"Morning." She muttered.

"Have some coffee. Add some milk. Two sugars. This thing I think is vanilla. Fixes you up in no time." As I mentioned each ingredient, I added it to a steaming cup. I passed it to her. She drank eagerly, and shook her head.

"Aah, it wakes you up, no doubt." Took another sip. "Tastes nice."

"Good morning, children! Today is going to be another big, big day! Your first session of training!" Effie's tones were too high to be considered legal at that time of the morning.

"Remember fellas, you stay away of what you are good at, or at least, know how to do. Learn to survive." Haymitch didn't seem drunk, for a change. He stepped into the dining room wearing the most ridiculous dressing gown I had ever seen. "Get dressed, both of you, they're expecting you at eleven sharp."


	4. Chapter 4

I was, at the moment, standing in a semi-circle with the rest of the tributes, inside a gymnasium that could have fit twelve of the cabins at camp inside, at least, while a guy that looked too much like Octavian was reading out instructions. I think his name was Dieser, or Diesel, or I really didn't catch it. I allowed myself to analyze my surroundings; there were sort of ten different stations, each with a different purpose. My eyes wandered until I found the one I was looking for: a huge display of wicked cool knives, daggers, a scimitar, and _swords_. I sighed in relief. If they were going to provide that kind of weapon in the actual thing, my task was going to be so much easier. The fuel guy finished speaking, and the rest of the tributes scattered around. I headed straight for the swords. I reached out for one, it had a leaf-life blade and it was, at tops 75 centimeters long. I lifted it. Its balance was a little too far for my liking, but I could work with it. I set out for the center of the gym, catching suspicious glances. I saw Carrie to my left shaking her head. I just smiled. I moved towards a dummy, and set my pose as I had done so many times before. I had a quick déjà vu; I had started exactly the same way that fight with Ares in the beach of Santa Monica all those years ago. I then gripped my sword tightly with both hands, twisted my back, and let it fall on the dummy. Oh, how had I missed the feeling of having a sword in my hands. I was dodging, and moving, and slicing… as if I were back in Tartarus, fighting the monsters and protecting Annabeth, or back in Manhattan, fighting Cronos's troops… I stopped being aware of what was around me, the only things that mattered were me, and my sword, and my enemy. I side stepped, and tripped over a stool. It was only a minimal distraction, but was enough for me to notice that the rest of the people in the gym had turned around to watch me practice. "_You stay away of what you're good at_" Ha! I was happy to notice I didn't care. And even, that I wanted the rest of them to know they can't kill me, because I still have something worth fighting and living for, something I would defend to the grave. I lowered the sword, thanked the guy that was attending that station, returned it, and headed towards a farther corner of the gym. I sat down, and in that moment, I vowed to myself that _I would not kill anyone. I've seen enough of my friends die. I won't do that to anybody. Nobody deserves it. _And while repeating that to myself over and over again, I felt calmed down, and peaceful, and knew for certain that I wasn't going to turn into a monster I was not. And I wasn't going to let them do that to me.

"Hey Jackson, it's Jackson, right?" I heard someone call. I smiled. I had half hoped this would come.

"Heyy… Fletch? Yeah, Fletch."

"Uh, Jackson, how would you like to join us for lunch?" she said. She motioned towards a table with the rest of the Careers.

"That would be nice." And I joined them. Even though, those were not the guys I was more truly afraid of. Ugh, I hate morality. And ethics. And whatever messes with your head when you have a dilemma.

The Careers had an Ares-like bully type, but I knew they didn't have anything to do with him. Well, I hoped. I wish there was like something you could sort of spray all over people to figure out if they are demigods or not. Like garlic with vampires, or something of the sort. It would be dead useful. There were six of them, three boys and three girls. I made the seventh. _Again._ Wonderful. They were nice-ish, considering how they had grown up and in what situation we were located, they were sort of huge, or at least burly, and very thick. On Athena, help them please.

"So Jackson, where did you learn to fight like that? It was totally awesome. I had never seen anyone do what you did with a sword. And I've grown up surrounded by the best fighters in Panem." The boy from District 2, Darek, asked me.

"Uh, my father used to grow crops on our backyard; I learned to use those instruments. He had learned from an old man in our village, I think, he taught him how to use a sword, he used to beat him up, and then my dad taught me. And I've kept practicing. But you? Your aim with those knives is absolutely neat." Fake compliments are my friggin' specialty.

"Oh, that was nothing, really… but thank you anyway."

I was feeling Haymitch's laser eyes on my back. I knew what he was thinking; I knew the lecture I was expecting.

That was the first day of training.

On the second day, I set myself to learn to survive. I quite too late realized that here, I did not have either ambrosia or nectar, and that would be quite a problem. I knew some basic first-aid (Will had insisted it was actually important), some survival (Annabeth HAD made me take that horrible course at camp), but nothing close to what I needed. So I set to memorize edible and inedible stuff, start a fire, tie knots, make snares, other tricks, it was too much to cope with. I had lunch with the Careers again, but this time I dragged Carrie with me. I was not going to leave that girl alone to her own devices. If my theory was right, it would be easier to actually help her. Nobody even made a comment. She sat, her back straight, and began eating as if there was no tomorrow. I guess, in some sense of the word, that was true.

That was the second day of training.

On the third day, I was ready to show off in all my absolute glory. Not my water powers, of course, because if I gave them out, these S.O.B.s. would make sure I _didn't_ get hold of any water during the whole thing; I still had some common sense. But the plenitude of my sword-fighting, my lance-throwing, my wrestling ability; that could be it. I felt really confident, and strong, and for the first time, sure of myself, as I was about to do an easy task, that required no more thinking than another normal training day at camp. I thought it offensive, sort of, that the tributes always went up in the same particular order, it should be random, but anyway… the amount of weird crap that passed through my head during those long moments waiting for my turn… finally just Carrie and me left… and,

"Perseus Jackson" Holy Hephaestus how I hated when they used my full name. I walked inside the gymnasium to see all these Gamemakers either half asleep, staring at the ceiling, or eating grossly delicious Capitol food. I sighed; I honestly had expected this. Then a stroke of brilliance found me.

"I would like to request a partner in order to demonstrate what I'm capable of." How snobbish that was. But hey, I was going to entertain them, they had to at least comply with my requests. A tall, strong guy with over-shiny green eyes stepped down from the platform. He nodded. I picked up a sword from the stand; the same one I had used for the previous demonstration. He picked another one after a moment of doubt. I knew what I was going to do.

I bent down, cut a strip of fabric from the bottom of my pants and, blindfolded myself. I made sure I was completely in the dark, and I moved towards the guy.

"We can now start."

I heard the whistling of the sword a moment before it came down on me. I moved, parried his strike and kicked his leg. I was still in the dark. I didn't know what had taken me to do this, but if I wanted the dam sponsors, I had to leave an impression on these dickheads. I ran for the wall, and propelled myself upwards, bringing down my sword on his head, I felt his throw, but I twisted in midair and avoided it, landing just behind him, and twisting my back, felt him in front of me again. I attacked, and with that wrist flick Luke had taught me all those years ago, I disarmed him. I heard the sword clang against the floor. I breathed deeply, removed my blindfold, and dried up the sweat with my sleeve. The fight couldn't have been more than five minutes long, but I was exhausted. My reflexes were doing extra hours, I was shaking. Finally, I looked up; the guy looked completely dumbfounded, and the Gamemakers were ignoring their food. I had accomplished what I wanted, or at least, started to. I thanked the guy, and stared at those gits.

"Thank you for your time Mr. Jackson, you may go."

And I left.

That night, when the scores showed up, I pretended to be impressed with my 12. "Wow, I didn't know they really watched me" and shit like that. Carrie got a 6. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either. Anyway, she smiled, and headed back to her room without eating dinner. I understood her. This was overwhelming. I ate a huge big fat load of weird blue pasta and headed out to the balcony.

"I expected I would find you here." I whispered to the air.

"I'm no one, what would you even expect of me."

"To late to philosophize, my friend. I needed to talk to you since we arrived here. In private."

"Yeah? About what? You've made loads of new little friends, I saw." As she was saying that, she came out of the shadows.

"Look, this is serious. I can, and I will keep you alive. I just need to know you trust me."

"Trust you? I've known you for a straight damn week. Sure, I will trust you."

"Carrie, at least listen to me."

"I can cope on my own, thanks very much."

"I know what you're going through! Believe me, I know, I went through the same stuff a while ago."

"What would you know about anything, Percy?" She stepped towards the door, and I grabbed her by the arm. I reached for my pocket, and I found the pen.

"Just listen, and tell me if you can see this. If not, I'll believe you." And I uncapped my pen. She gasped.

"Why would you have a bronze sword in your fucking pocket?"

"Wanna know the answer? Just stick with me, and you'll find out." One, two, three steps.

"Fine!"

And I told her. About North America, for starters. About my life, about camp, about me. About the gods, all of them, Greek and Roman, and about half-bloods. About Annabeth, about my mom, about the Argo II. About the mission. And about my hunch.

"I want to have some of that shit you're smoking dude, because this is absolutely wankers. I mean, gods? Seriously? Percy, do you really think that if gods existed they would allow this to happen? I mean, like the hunger? The violence, the Hunger Games? Dude, what kind of crappy gods are they? Right now, in less than two weeks, you'll have underage kids murdering each other in cold blood. Do you think a god could be so twisted to allow that?"

"My dad once told me that they didn't like to interfere in our business… he says the human race has done well up to now, well then, where I came from, and that they need to solve their own problems… form instance, right now, we need to defeat the giants, and the gods all just went MIA. We were about five and a half minutes from blowing up a city, and what did they do? Stand and watch. Look, I'm not telling you that you have to like them, but they are real, and one of their annoying majesties is probably your dad. Never wondered who he was?"

"My mom just told me that he vanished, that one day, he just went as if he were dead." She went towards a little pocket in her pants, and took out a photograph. It was old and faded, but it was still recognizable: it was a petite smiling woman who looked a lot like Carrie, holding hands with an ageless face that I only knew too well. "That's my dad. It is the only picture I've got of him." I took the picture, and my hand trembled. "What, you recognize him?"

"Better than I should." I answered. I sighed. "But had you ever heard about Olympian gods before?"

"In an old story an old lady my mother helped. Her name was June. She kept talking about gods, but she was very ill and dehydrated, so I didn't think it was important." She looked at me. "Jackson, who is my father."

"Your father… he should have claimed you already, even if you didn't notice. But well, your father is none other than Thanatos, in his Greek form, or Letus, in Roman; but either way, the god of Death."


End file.
